Erin’s answer to “So I am just getting to the point in this where Marianne has started to eat less and less, fixating…” > Likes and Comments
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I did wonder about he 'subtle/not so subtle' references to an eating disorder and that they weren't followed through
aaah completely thought the same - especially because it crops up in both books..
It didnt occur to me first that they are romanticized because of my personsal views I could not possibly read the way it was described as positive, but you're right, I always assumed they were going to be adressed in the end, which they didn't.. especially in Normal People it felt weird that Connel is getting help with his problems but Marianne does not? Sure she is moving away from her family situation but obviously she is still traumatized and that is never addressed?
I too thought the eating part was an element of Marianne that was made to make her different and even more attractive by the author. At that point I turned to look at photos of the author.
Marianne's lovingly depicted eating disorder was troubling for sure. I think it makes sense in her psychological context (remember Liam telling her what to eat), but I think it also shows that Marianne is a very troubled person who has in no way been "healed" by her relationship with Connell. Quite the opposite.
Glad to see these comments, got halfway through the book in 48 hours and suddenly noticed some relapse thoughts. It's a bit of a dodgy one in a book that otherwise handles it's heavy contents carefully.
I disagree. yes, the book did not hint at Marianne getting help for her disordered eating, or potential eating disorder, but that does not mean it is a sort of romanticization of that mental health disorder. I think her mental health is in severe deterioration, even towards the end of the book, when shes supposedly in a healthy mindset, and it just comes to showcase how she was so numb and almost disassociated from life events that she was not noticing the unhealthy eating patterns. It is realistic.
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Lucille
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Aug 26, 2019 10:18AM
I did wonder about he 'subtle/not so subtle' references to an eating disorder and that they weren't followed through
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aaah completely thought the same - especially because it crops up in both books..
It didnt occur to me first that they are romanticized because of my personsal views I could not possibly read the way it was described as positive, but you're right, I always assumed they were going to be adressed in the end, which they didn't.. especially in Normal People it felt weird that Connel is getting help with his problems but Marianne does not? Sure she is moving away from her family situation but obviously she is still traumatized and that is never addressed?
I too thought the eating part was an element of Marianne that was made to make her different and even more attractive by the author. At that point I turned to look at photos of the author.
Marianne's lovingly depicted eating disorder was troubling for sure. I think it makes sense in her psychological context (remember Liam telling her what to eat), but I think it also shows that Marianne is a very troubled person who has in no way been "healed" by her relationship with Connell. Quite the opposite.
Glad to see these comments, got halfway through the book in 48 hours and suddenly noticed some relapse thoughts. It's a bit of a dodgy one in a book that otherwise handles it's heavy contents carefully.
I disagree. yes, the book did not hint at Marianne getting help for her disordered eating, or potential eating disorder, but that does not mean it is a sort of romanticization of that mental health disorder. I think her mental health is in severe deterioration, even towards the end of the book, when shes supposedly in a healthy mindset, and it just comes to showcase how she was so numb and almost disassociated from life events that she was not noticing the unhealthy eating patterns. It is realistic.
